Health law requires chain restaurants to post nutrition information

Chain restaurants will have to post nutrition information

Do you really want to know how many calories are in your favorite burger-and-fries combo meal? Or the frozen blended coffee drink you order three times a week?

Well, get ready. Those numbers are going to be staring you in the face thanks to the health-care overhaul.

Buried on page 1,206 of the 2,400-plus pages of the health-care-reform law is a provision requiring chain restaurants around the nation to post calorie counts for each menu item they serve. They also will have to make other nutritional information available on request.

The legislation, signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama, requires calorie numbers to be clearly posted at drive-throughs, on menus and menu boards, and on vending machines, with the goal of educating consumers in the hope they make healthier choices.

More than 67 percent of Americans are overweight or obese, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One reason is their inability to easily get nutritional information on food they order when dining out, especially calories, which are critical data, health advocates say.

"Coffee drinks can range from 20 calories to 800 calories, and burgers can range from 250 calories to well over 1,000 calories," said Margo Wootan, nutritional-policy director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer-advocacy group.

The calorie numbers likely won't start appearing until early next year. The legislation requires the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to iron out specific regulations within the next 12 months for the restaurant industry to follow.

The new federal law applies to all restaurants or vending operators that have 20 or more locations or machines nationwide.

The only restaurant meals exempted are daily specials or those that have been on the menu fewer than 60 days.

In addition, restaurants will have to make available such nutritional information as the amount of carbohydrates, sodium, protein and fiber in each serving of food.

The calorie-labeling provision had the support of the National Restaurant Association because it creates a uniform standard and automatically supersedes a patchwork of similar labeling rules passed by some U.S. cities and states in recent years, including New York City and California.

The passage of the law was not unexpected, but it wasn't exactly welcome news to Arizona restaurants.

Steve Chucri, president and chief executive of the Arizona Restaurant Association, said his organization and its members would have preferred to let the market, not the government, determine a policy.

The association represents more than 10,000 food establishments in the state.

"I don't think the dining public necessarily wants to be told what to eat," Chucri said. "And I think they are smarter than what we give them credit for. Knowing the caloric intake won't necessarily dissuade them from getting their favorite meal at a restaurant."

Also, with the troubled economy, "some of our members will be frustrated by this. . . . Putting another regulation on isn't the best idea," Chucri said.